Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
In Supreme Court Opioid Pill Case, Hints Of Support For Doctors
AP: Justices Seem To Favor Docs Convicted In Pain Pill Schemes
In a case stemming from the opioid addiction crisis, the Supreme Court on Tuesday appeared ready to side with two imprisoned doctors who wrote thousands of prescriptions for pain medication in short periods. The justices signaled they would rule that the doctors’ trials were unfair because they were prevented from mounting a “good faith” defense that they did not intend any harm to patients. (Sherman, 3/1)
The Hill: Supreme Court Grapples With Drug-Dealing Convictions For Opioid Prescribers
The doctors, both sentenced to more than 20 years in prison, are challenging their convictions, arguing that medical professionals should not be tried as drug dealers when they believe they are prescribing medication for a legitimate medical purpose. ... The arguments on Tuesday focused on close readings of the criminal law around controlled substances, which ban the distribution of those medications unless prescribed by a licensed doctor "acting in the usual course of his professional practice." (Neidig, 3/1)
In other developments in the opioid crisis —
Stateline: States Likely To Resist CDC Proposal Easing Opioid Access
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month proposed new guidelines that would ease restrictions on prescription opioids, but states might balk at lifting limits on painkillers that have fueled the nation’s deadly overdose epidemic. The proposed recommendations aim to give millions of Americans suffering intractable and chronic pain better access to the opioid painkillers their doctors say they need. At the same time, the proposed guidelines caution against starting any new patients on the highly addictive painkillers unless nothing else works. (Vestal, 3/1)
The Hill: Synthetic Opioids Stronger Than Fentanyl Have Cropped Up In The US | TheHill
While fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly contributed to the unprecedented spike in drug deaths, the highly potent synthetic opioid fentanyl — which is 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine — is primarily fueling the nation’s drug overdose epidemic due to ease of production and its powerful effects. But in recent years, there’s been a worrisome discovery in a number of states and the District of Columbia: A group of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, even more powerful than fentanyl in some of its forms, has begun to emerge. (Guzman, 3/1)
Bloomberg: Endo Held Liable in U.S. Opioid Case After Default Judgment
A judge in Tennessee found Endo International Plc liable in an opioid-marketing case by default and is stripping the company of its legal defenses in an upcoming trial. In a rare move, the judge entered a so-called default judgment against Endo on Monday after finding the company intentionally concealed documents from Tennessee municipalities suing over its marketing of its opioid-based painkillers. The 13 counties want as much as $23 billion from Endo and other defendants in reimbursement of tax dollars spent fighting the public-health crisis. (Feeley, 3/1)
AP: Applications To Run Safe Injection Sites Being Accepted
Organizations that want to operate so-called harm reduction centers in Rhode Island, where people dealing with addiction can take heroin and other illegal drugs under proper medical supervision, can now submit an application to the state Department of Health. (3/1)
AP: South Carolina Drug Overdose Deaths Increase 50% In 2020
Drug overdose deaths in South Carolina increased by more than 50% after the COVID-19 pandemic started, state health officials said. Final figures from death certificates show 1,734 people died in drug overdoses in South Carolina in 2020, a 53% increase from the 1,131 deaths reported in 2019, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control said. (3/1)
San Francisco Chronicle: As Fentanyl Ravages San Francisco, There’s Been A Sudden Shift In The Debate Over A Get-Tough Method Of Rehab Emphasizing Abstinence
Desperate to combat a drug epidemic that’s cost more than 1,300 lives in the past two years, San Francisco officials are pushing to get more people into treatment and spending millions on expanding existing programs and creating new ones. Now, some city leaders and nonprofits are reviving talk of a get-tough method of rehab that has been largely rejected throughout the U.S. since the 1990s — placing a primary emphasis on requiring clients to shake their addictions without medication or relapses, loosely referred to as abstinence. (Fagan, 3/1)
